EU Presidency Statement - Advancement of Women

EU Presidency Statement on Item 64: The Advancement of Women, by the Permanent Mission of the United Kingdom to the United Nations, on behalf of the European Union, Third Committee, Sixtieth Session of the General Assembly of the United Nations , New York

Chairperson,

1. I have the honour of speaking on behalf of the European Union. The Acceding Countries Bulgaria and Romania, the Candidate Countries Turkey and Croatia*, the Countries of the Stabilisation and Association Process and potential candidates Bosnia and Herzegovina, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Serbia and Montenegro, as well as Ukraine and Moldova align themselves with this statement.

Chairperson,

2. 2005 has been an important year for gender equality and the advancement of women at the international and national level. A series of anniversaries and events have enabled us to celebrate the progress made towards achieving gender equality and women's human rights; to identify the challenges that remain; and to renew our commitment to this goal.

Chairperson,

3. The European Union warmly welcomed the adoption of the political declaration at the forty-ninth session of the Commission on the Status of Women in March this year - adopted, fittingly, as the Commission celebrated International Women's Day. And we welcome in particular the full and unequivocal reaffirmation by all Member States of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action and of the outcome of the twenty-third Special Session of the General Assembly. The European Union congratulates all those Member States who worked so hard to achieve this outcome.

4. But while we celebrate, we must also recognise how much more we have to do. Yes, we have made progress in implementing the commitments made at Beijing and five years later at the Special Session of the General Assembly. But CSW 49 also showed that despite this progress, much more must be done by all of us if we are really to ensure that women and men are equal in all spheres of life throughout the world and can enjoy fully and equally all human rights and freedoms.

5. Across the world, women still face discrimination that prevents them from participating fully in the everyday life of their countries. They are still denied equal rights and access to economic resources. Violence against women inside and outside the home persists at a shocking rate. Progress on improving maternal health is lagging behind and women - in particular girls - are disproportionately affected by HIV and AIDS as newly infected people and carers for the ill and orphaned. The girl child continues to suffer discrimination based on her sex. And in the ten years since Beijing, we have seen a horrifying increase in the crime of the trafficking of women and girls, particularly for the purposes of commercial and sexual exploitation. Going forward, it is vital that issues like these are given proper consideration in international fora and at national level.

6. And let us also not forget that women are often exposed to double or multiple discrimination; not only on the grounds of gender, but also for example, because of their ethnic origin, religion, belief, disability, age or sexual orientation. Their situation needs special attention. Gender must be mainstreamed into all measures to tackle discrimination towards a given group.

7. For all these reasons, we have an obligation to redouble our efforts to implement the commitments of Beijing and Beijing+5 - commitments that we all made - and to ensure that the consensus reached at CSW this year is translated into tangible progress on the ground.

Chairperson,

8. In our statement under this agenda item last year, the European Union stressed the importance of not regarding "women's issues in isolation from other important UN review processes, as if they have no broader bearing". The EU therefore welcomes the due recognition given to gender equality and the advancement of women in the discussions leading up to the Millennium Review Summit and in the Summit declaration adopted by our leaders last month.

9. This declaration recognises that the successful promotion of development, security and human rights is dependent upon ensuring the full and equal participation of women. Women's rights and access to economic resources are essential to realising development goals. Until the Cairo Programme of Action is implemented in its entirety, including by improving standards of maternal health and guaranteeing full access to the complete range of sexual and reproductive health services as agreed at Cairo, mothers will be unable to provide adequate care and support for their children, condemning them to the poverty and ill-health suffered by their parents. Wherever women continue to be under-represented in political life and all other areas of decision-making, at every level, all of society will suffer. Discrimination in education has long-term detrimental consequences: as long as girls are denied quality education on a par with boys, they will be unable to contribute to the economic development of their communities, or to take care of their own health and well-being. In this regard, the European Union also welcomes the report of the Millennium Project Task Force on Education and Gender Equality.

10. But again, we must now focus on how we translate our commitment to these issues into action. Central to our approach is the vital contribution of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action to achieving our ambitions. Only through its full and effective implementation and its delivery of gender equality can there be long-term, sustained, economic, political and social prosperity.

11. But we must also not forget the central role of the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women. The European Union repeats its call to all States that have not already done so, to sign and ratify or accede to CEDAW as soon as possible, and calls upon States Parties to withdraw all reservations that are contrary to the object and purpose of the Convention.

Chairperson,

12. 2005 also marks the fifth anniversary of the adoption of Security Council resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security. Since 2000, the international community has come to recognise not just how much conflict particularly affects women and girls, but also how much, and how often, women hold the key to its peaceful resolution. We pay tribute to the many civil society organisations, and in particular women's non-governmental organisations, which have brought these issues to the world's attention.

13. Over the last five years, much attention has been paid to the implementation of SCR1325 at the UN level. This has been entirely appropriate as we focus on ensuring the continued mainstreaming of a gender perspective throughout the work of the United Nations. As reaffirmed by the High Level Meeting on Gender Justice in Post-Conflict Situations in Stockholm on 25-26 August, this work must continue. The EU looks forward to the UN Action Plan for implementing SCR1325 across the UN system which will be presented to the Security Council at the fifth anniversary debate this month. The European Union also hopes that the recently established Peacebuilding Commission will demonstrate a strong commitment to the full implementation of resolution 1325.

14. But perhaps it is now also time for us to look at how the provisions of this landmark resolution can be better implemented at regional and national level. The EU has, for example, started work on integrating the provisions of resolution 1325 in its crisis management operations. Only through its implementation at all levels, can we ensure that the provisions of SCR1325 are fully realised and that women can fully and equally participate in all levels of decision-making with regard to conflict prevention and resolution and to peace-building, including in peace negotiations.

Chairperson,

15. At the European level, 2005 marks the mid-term review of the European Union's "Lisbon strategy". This strategy, adopted by the European Council in 2000, is designed to reinforce economic reform and social cohesion as part of a stronger knowledge-based European Union economy. In doing so, the strategy recognises that gender equality and the advancement of women are fundamental to the achievement of full employment, sustained economic growth and social cohesion, as well as the promotion of knowledge and innovation in Europe, the reinforcement of social protection and the eradication of poverty.

16. But, to deliver gender equality requires strong national mechanisms and institutional structures. In February, under the Luxembourg Presidency of the European Union, partners agreed to ensure that gender equality bodies and structures across the Union have the human and financial resources necessary to function effectively and that strong political commitment, at the highest level, is vital. Partners also recognised that gender mainstreaming remains a key strategy for achieving gender equality and ensuring the enjoyment of all human rights and fundamental freedoms by women and girls. Moreover, we agreed to identify processes and tools that will encourage greater accountability for addressing gender equality issues. We will strive to continue to improve the collection, compilation and dissemination of timely, reliable, comparable data, disaggregated by sex.

17. During the second half of 2005, under the Presidency of the United Kingdom, the European Union has focused on women's experience of work and how to address the many practical challenges in this area. These include, for example, improving women's employment rates and tackling women's unemployment, the gender pay gap, sex segregation in the labour market, the unequal share of the burden of unpaid labour between women and men, and gender-specific inequalities in decision making.

18. These challenges are complex. But we must meet them if the European Union is to realise its vision of a Europe, and a world, that is economically dynamic, and equally importantly, socially inclusive.

Chairperson,

19. Next year sees the fiftieth anniversary of the Commission on the Status of Women. This anniversary will allow us to reflect on the achievements of the Commission over the last fifty years and to consider its future.

20. The European Union greatly valued the opportunity to take part in the many interactive debates at the 49th session of CSW. In our view, one of the most valuable aspects of CSW, in addition to the agreed conclusions, is the opportunity it provides for a constructive exchange of ideas and best practice between Member States and experts from the field and from across the world. We hope the discussion of the working methods of the Commission will take this into account.

21. The European Union recognises the unique value and role of the Commission, as of the rest of the UN's gender architecture, in advancing gender equality and women's rights across the world. As agreed by our leaders last month, we stand ready to "undertake to strengthen the UN's system's capabilities in the area of gender". We look forward to discussing with all delegations how best we can accelerate progress towards our common goal of achieving gender equality.

Thank you, Chairperson.


* Croatia continues to be part of the Stabilisation and Association Process.

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• European Commission puts women's reproductive health and child rights at heart of Development policy (4/5/2005)
• Statement by the European Commission - 49th Session of the Commission on the Status of Women (7/3/2005)
• International Women's Day (7/3/2005)